UNHCR Concerned as Niger Forces Out Nigerians

The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern that Niger is forcing Nigerians away from Lake Chad and their livelihoods in the wake of a deadly battle with the Boko Haram extremist group.

Thousands of Nigerians who worked in the fishing industry are being forced away from Lake Chad by the government of Niger and back into Nigeria, according to authorities on both sides of the border.

The order comes in the wake of an attack, by the Boko Haram extremist group on the island of Karamga in Lake Chad last month, that killed at least 74 Niger soldiers and civilians.

Alhaji Muhammed Kanar, northeast coordinator for Nigeria’s emergency management agency, said, “From the first three days, we received nearly 4,000. And in fact, another batch of nearly 3,000 or above, we are now in the process of registration.”

Boko Haram’s six-year rampage across northeastern Nigeria has displaced more than a million Nigerians.